The fatal shooting of a witness in a murder case outside the Lenasia magistrate’s court on Tuesday is not the first time that a witness has been killed in such a callous manner.
In November 2023, a woman and her partner were shot dead outside the Randburg magistrate's court. The woman was a witness in a trial against four police officers charged with assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. She and her husband were killed while en route to court by a gunman who leapt out of a black vehicle.
In Tuesday's incident, the 27-year-old man, identified as Ashwin Mouwers, was standing outside the building when he was accosted by two armed suspects who shot him, apparently without uttering a word.
The victim was a witness in a 2021 murder case in Eldorado Park.
These murders bring into question whether these witnesses would have been alive if they were kept under witness protection.
Authorities need to answer whether witness protection ensures the safety of the witnesses, especially in sensitive cases such as murder.
However, placement on the witness protection programme is voluntary.
The NPA, in its 2023 annual report, said the Office for Witness Protection provides temporary protection, support and related services to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, and their related persons, in judicial proceedings.
It said participation in the witness protection programme is voluntary and no person can be forced or influenced to remain on the programme.
“No persons were threatened, harmed or killed while on the witness protection programme due to an efficient operating model that ensures the safety of witnesses and related persons,” the NPA said in the report.
It said during the reporting period, 63 witnesses and 47 related persons were discharged, resettled or relocated. Only two complaints were lodged, both were resolved.
Only three witnesses and one related person walked off the programme. Reasons for leaving included the strict conditions of the programme, isolation from family, lack of community support, profile of the witness, trauma and family pressure.
Legal expert Dr Llewelyn Curlewis said witness protection in South Africa is in theory a wonderful idea but in reality a myth, given the logistical issues associated with it.
“The mere costs involved for such an exercise obviously result in this possibility only being offered in very rare and exceptional circumstances.
“Very few witnesses are willing to give up their comfortable life in South Africa to be accommodated elsewhere in the world, usually cutting ties permanently with family and friends forever,” Curlewis said.
Most witnesses would rather avoid testifying altogether against those perpetrators if at all possible, he said.
Curlewis said the state cannot even successfully prosecute most of those mentioned on the Zondo state capture report or stop mob justice incidents.
“What then are the chances that they will be able to protect a person (and all of his/her immediate family) against professional hired assassins that enter and exit the country sometimes even before the deceased is found?”
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